The present invention relates to medical devices, and to methods of making and using such devices. More particularly, it relates to medical devices and systems comprising portable components or features for treating patients, wherein a patient can carry on as completely as possible with normal day-to-day activities. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices for administering, delivering, infusing, injecting or dispensing substances, and to methods of making, using and operating such devices.
Portable patient devices are known for a multiplicity of applications, for example for blood pressure measurement, pulse measurement, ECG recording and medication supply. These patient devices are now an important aid in diagnosis and therapy, allowing a patient to go about everyday life without great restrictions, while offering doctors informative measurements under everyday conditions.
An example of a patient device for supplying medication is an insulin pump, for example the Accu-Chek® insulin pump from Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Germany. A patient carries the insulin pump, generally on or near their body. Via a thin tube and a cannula is placed under the skin, the insulin pump delivers insulin continuously to the body. Microprocessors control a motor which moves a plunger in an insulin vial via a threaded rod, for example every three minutes or on demand. This movement, which corresponds to a respectively programmed basal rate, i.e. the patient's basic insulin demand, supplies the body with the required amount of insulin. The patient can adjust and operate the insulin pump via a user interface, including a display unit (display) and buttons.
These patient devices can be worn or carried relatively inconspicuously and discreetly by the patients. In the course of a day, the patients occasionally need to adjust the devices or check the settings, which under certain circumstances is not possible to do discreetly.